Raindrops
by Gray-Rain Skies
Summary: It's all in the eye of the beholder. [SoraKairi]


Okay, another story with Sora/Kairi. Yay! So please, enjoy my story, if that's possible, and I appreciate reviews (wink wink).

Oh, and I'd like to say thanks here to FieryKai. She was my first reviewer, made me feel really happy (I'm new to this, y'know), and I don't think I reviewed well enough for her good story, I Watched. So thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

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"How pretty." 

"Yeah?"

Kairi glanced over at him, raising her eyebrows. "You don't think so?"

"Well…no."

She sighed, standing up and placing her hands on his hips. "Sora, are you devoid of all inner depth?"

He blinked. "Uh…no?"

She smiled gently. "Sorry. That was unkind." She looked back to the leaf. "But how can someone like you not see the beauty in something so gentle?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning over her as he tried to get a closer look and see through her eyes. Her breath left her, and she forced herself not to lean into his touch.

"Don't know. But I don't see it."

"Sora," she whined slightly, pouting. "They're so beautiful. Raindrops suspended on the leaves of a flower? It's something you take for granted your whole life, and then when you finally look at it, you see how much you love it, how much it calms you."

His eyes flicked to hers, and she blushed, looking back down. "They're raindrops."

She sighed. "Sora, come on."

"No, I don't see why it's so beautiful." Now he was going to be stubborn about it. She sighed, frustrated. Was it too much to ask to try to share with him something without having to explain it to the core? Really, he exhausted everything ever since he came back from fighting. He physically _needed _reasons now to accept something.

He'd even distanced himself from her.

"It just _is_. Look how perfect they are, sitting there and catching the light." She smiled fondly.

"Nothing's perfect," he grumbled, and she looked to him in surprise.

"No need to be so bitter."

He sighed, his breath tickling her cheek. She blushed again, somewhat disappointed now that he didn't get her tiny speech about taking things for granted.

If he didn't accept something so small as _that_, how could she _ever _confess to him?

"It's just…"

She blinked, looking up at him.

"It's not beautiful."

"_Why?_"

His hand squeezed her shoulder, and she was suddenly struck by the sadness on his face. Had she said something?

"It's too sad."

Startled, she looked back at the raindrops. "How so?"

"Lots of reasons," he said, embarrassed obviously.

Still, she was confused. What was he seeing that she wasn't? She wanted to get into his head, to feel emotions akin to his, to be connected to him once more. Why did he shut her out so quickly?

Why were his defenses so tight around her especially?

"Like…?"

He sighed. "I don't know."

"Sora…"

He smiled down at her, wrapping his arm gently under her neck, pulling her against him. She blushed as he sighed into her hair, resting his head against her neck tiredly.

"It doesn't matter."

"I…want to know," she murmured, frozen by his display of affection.

"Why?"

"I want to know what you're thinking," she whispered, face burning.

"You don't," he said, laughing softly. "Really. But okay." He took a deep breath. "You think it's pretty because it catches the light and is so perfectly suspended, right?"

She nodded.

"Well, that's what makes you wonderful. You look at the world with happiness, with optimism, with an eye that catches beauty in everything." He nuzzled affectionately against her neck, then sighed. "When I see those drops, though, all I think is that everything could come plummeting down in a second, and then when it hits the ground it will burst and nothing will be the same."

She blinked back tears. "You're afraid you'll have to leave," she said softly, "and that if you do everything will change?"

He laughed into her ear, making her shiver. "Yeah. You're so smart, Kairi."

She bit her lip.

"But also," he said, holding her tighter, "I think of how they don't look like raindrops but teardrops. And I think of you, and how sad I make you every day, and I can't…" His voice shook. "I can't do anything but hate it. Where's the beauty in making you hurt?"

She let her hand touch his, biting her lip hard. "It would all be okay if you told me stuff like this," she whispered.

He pressed a kiss to her hair just above her ear, and the wind left her body. "Kairi…I wish it were easy. You're the first and only person I want to share my heart with."

She laughed softly. "Not Riku?"

"Not this way," he whispered, and then he let her go.

She turned around quickly, tears in her eyes, and he looked away, eyes falling on the leaves.

"Stupid," he whispered softly, tears of his own gathering in his eyes. He laughed bitterly, then ran his sleeve across his face to wipe them away.

"Smile," she whispered anxiously. She stepped forward. "Sora, I didn't mean---"

He grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently and offering her the smile she wanted. "No. Don't apologize. Even if my heart hurts at something, I'd rather be with you than without you."

She sniffled, squeezing his hand back. "Sora…"

He laughed, startling her. Was he faking it? Was he forcing himself to be happy?

"Don't look so sad, Kairi. You see beauty in everything."

She lowered her eyes. "Like you said, there's nothing beautiful in you being hurt."

He sighed, patting her head, and she looked up. "Kairi, I love you, but you're looking too into this."

She blushed. "You…"

Leaning down, he grinned, blushing as his eyes met hers nervously. "I'll always be sad because of what happened," he said softly. "But you'll always be there to make me smile, right?"

Nodding, she leaned up on her toes and pressed a kiss on his lips, face aflame and eyes tightly shut. He tentatively placed his fingers against her cheek, then spread his hand to hold her close to him. She pulled back only when she could no longer breathe, and blinked her eyes open to see him flushing.

"That's a yes?"

She giggled. "I love you," she said, throwing her arms around him and burying her head in the crook of his neck.

He relaxed against her body, sighing contentedly. "And I never thought you took me for granted," he whispered, amusement in his voice.

She smiled. "Maybe there's hope for you after all, Sora."

"Huh?"

She looked up and smiled, then kissed him gently. "Nothing, my lazy bum."

He rested his forehead on hers, smiling the most beautiful smile she'd ever seen.

It was sad, that he couldn't see the beauty he should have. But she'd be there to help him open his eyes to everything, just as he'd done for her. And she'd return every second the love he'd harbored for her and she'd only taken for granted. Because she wanted to create beauty of her own with him, to make a life perfectly chaotic, balanced on the edge like the raindrops glinting in the morning sun.

That's where happiness resided, she was sure. In the beauty and sadness of crystal tears, in the happiness and chaos of a life threatening to plummet and shatter, and in the love she would always feel…for him.

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I love that pair to pieces, I do. Heh. Oh yeah, and since the story is done now, I'd _really _love it if I got a lot of comments. Even if you're shy! Even a _"good" _would be great! 


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